A thousand years from now, Vance Astro, Yondu, Matinex and Charlie-27 - The Guardians of the Galaxy - rise to retake Earth from reptilian raiders. But they're not just building on the heroism of past centuries as they battle the Badoon... they're recruiting from it. Captain America, Doctor Strange, the Thing, the Hulk and other familiar faces join the star-spanning heroes in the greatest war the future ever saw. Collecting: Marvel Super Heroes (1967) 18, Marvel Two -In-One (1974) 4-5, Giant -Size Defenders 5, Defenders (1972) 26-29, Marvel Presents 3-12

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Released to cash in on the forth coming 'Guardians' movie this may disappoint newer fans as it's not the same GOTG. This is the original team from the 70's (mostly). But it's written by one of the all time stars of the field...Steve Gerber...and everything he does is gold. The original story was written in a clunky fashion by Arnold Drake, a writer drafted in from DC to take up some of the slack as Marvel expanded its line of comics at the end of the 60's; and doesn't bare too much scrutiny. It was drawn by the great Gene Colan, who is let down here by the inker. The Defenders story arc is illustrated by Sal Buscema who does a bang up workman like job. Steve Gerber, meanwhile is in the middle of a subtext (there's always a subtext with his work, which is why he's head and shoulders above other writers in the medium) where he's decdonstructing the super-hero genre: the focus here is the relationship between Valkyries alter-ego Barbara Norris and her husband Jack, who she has no memory of. Another subversive plot thread is in how the villains of the peace, the Badoon are finally brought to book. The second story arc also shows Gerbers subversive subtext, especially in the 'Planet of the Absurd' episode, and the details concerning Starhawks origin. This final arc suffers noticably because Gerber leaves the book before the storys resolution and his replacement just doesn't have the same finesse. This group of 'Guardians' went on to have more adventures before being put out to pasture. The new team that are heading to a multiplex near you in a year or two is made up of disparate characters from Marvels glory days in the 70's (except for Groot, who's from the late 50's), and no doubt Marvel will be releasing their adventures in book form. They have about a 10 year back catalogue of adventures and are well worth a look.